But their BBQ is good, so it's probably a good combination.
If you live just south of campus you can't go wrong with Bell's, although no Michigan experience is complete without stumbling drunkenly to Backroom at 3:30am and standing in a loooooong line in the middle of November in order to get two slices of okay, but not great, cheese pizza.
Anyway, that's probably the best part about living in UTowers. That and Panchero's.
+1 for Backroom (aka Backdoor)
$1 for a slice of pizza when you're having a good night is the right price. Dump some parmesan and red pepper on that and you're good to go.
...But we used to order cheesey breadsticks from Pizza House all the time and they were in fact awesome.
Overpriced, but tasty and a good amount, and in the summer you can sit outside and feed them to the birds while people watching and having a beer. Pizza House's are probably as good, but I liked them back when it was just basically a back of the house delivery place and they didn't cost more than a steak like they do now.
pints of Stucchi's. Evil, evil Pizza House.
Didn't they/don't they deliver beer?
Yes - but not to campus buildings/dorms or greek houses
Hello Faz with the misspelled celebrity advertisements.
This isn't quite pizza but their calzones are so good they might be delivered directly from heaven.
Cottage inn. Can't get the whole toppings baked into the cheese thing out East. MMMM
Cottage Inn Pizza for Four w/ a big ass greek salad for around $22. With Feta and black olives yum yum
But my dad makes the best pizza in Ann Arbor, dammit.
Best thing about living in U Towers was cock roach killing contest .
I am shocked no one has mentioned Jet's. 8-corner deep dish and cinnastix rock.
Thank you for finally posting! That 8 corner is AMAZING. I want one right now.
NYPD isn't very good, but their ziti pizza is great late night.
How many of you remember the Pizza Uno's on South U.?
I've only heard old people talk about it.
Were you a Lucitania survivor or something? Who taught you how to use the internet at the retirement home?
But the next guy thinks I'm a noob. :-P
And yes, it was a long swim back thank you very much...
n00bs. Soon after cheese was invented, there was Bimbo's.
Very good pizza and less-than-diligent about carding for beer.
Took my roommate there for his 20th birthday (I was 21), and told the waiter it was his 21st birthday. I showed my ID, the waiter said "Congratulations" to my roommate, and we had a great evening of pizza and pitchers of Stroh's.
And I'm not THAT old. Now, get off my lawn!!
I think it shut down when I was a sophomore and turned into an asian night club or something.
However, as a Chicagoan, Uno's is a BAD BAD BAD representation of Chicago style pizza. I even tell people to stay away from its flagship store in Chicago.
And while I am at it, NYPD and New York Style pizza generally sucks if you are sober. Even in New York, you can never get a fresh slice. They always have to throw it back into the oven for a minute to heat it up - totally ruins the freshness IMO.
Question for the board: Has anyone ever gotten a fresh slice of NY style pizza?
Awesome Pizza, and you can get it fresh. The issue you have is when you buy pizza by the slice and there is not a huge turnover you are going to get the reheating. I am sure you can wait until they take a fresh pie out of the oven.
I have lived on east coast and in Chicago and I prefer NY style Pizza - but it is a preference. My wife wont eat anything but Giardano's stuffed in Chicago.
Regarding A2 Pizza - my favorite was the cottage in sicilian. The sesame crust is the best I have had when I felt like splurging.
However the primary concern when I was at UM was cost. Dominoes had the two for one, and I never minded Dominoes pizza. Ceasers had the Pizza Pizza and Bells was just plain inexpensive.
Backroom used to be good before they changed from a NY style to more of a hand tossed (thicker crust style). Havent been there in a while so dont know if they changed back.
I agree. I thought their throw in raw veggies crust so hard and dry it tasted stale where's the cheese? pizzas weren't that great.
Anthony's was much better, and back then Pizza House was dealing out of a house, not a palace of bricks.
Loved it. Miss it.
For me its Silvio's.
Happy's is a must stop for me.
3 Large Pizzas and a case of Busch Light for like 38 dollars. Glorious
Bella Italia has the best NY style in town:
http://www.bellaitaliapizzaandpasta.com/
Transplanted New Yorker, and I agree re: Bella Italia. NYPD is occasionally excellent - something happened to their quality control a few years back, and their consistency is not so good. On the other hand, Bella Italia is really small, with a really consistent presence in the kitchen.
When he was in the old Taco Bell location on East U. He used to supply us with pizzas after close at TD's too. Owner has a little Soup Nazi in him. Or a little Blimpy's.
Pizza House. Usually got a Calzone.
Most Consumed? Bell's. Three words - Take Out Special
Best Late Night? Back Room. Is there any other choice? (for those of us who were around in it's heyday)
Guilty Pleasure? Gumby's. I think the Ann Arbor branch folded after my freshman year, but I still have fond memories of it's existence.
...for like the first week. Giant 24" pizzas for cheap, with the freshest toppings I've ever had. But everything was so good for so cheap, they had to be losing money like a mofo, cut back on quality, then it got pretty sucky.
I also probably ate more Bell's than anything else, because of those coupon booklet specials (and their misprints, which I have related elsewhere here...).
before 2 AM or sober. It is quite possible that it tasted horrible and that my fond memories have more to do with the situation than the 'za.
I had Bell's once a week easy my senior year. I miss the days where I could put away 4000 calories a day and not gain a pound.
if theirs was still supreme-o, since it's been almost a decade--then fan out. Thanks for all the tips.
After Scorekeepers, NYPD. After Ricks, Backroom.
To the OP, Anthony's Gourmet is awesome, didn't realize they had a new location since the one on Packard closed.
My favorite has got to be Bells, they have flavored crusts now and garlic crust just increases the awesome. Backroom is disgusting and tastes like bad microwave pizza.
Cottage Inn is also really good, late night special is awesome.
Pizza House has gone down hill a little bit lately imo.
Does anyone remember Wolverine Pizza? Never really tried their pizza, but their chicken wings were amazing.
NYPD is the best. Although when people make the rookie mistake and order something not fresh that needs reheating, you run into trouble.
Cottage inn is amazing for a restaurant-style pie. That deep dish is really unique.
And I'm not sure but I think you have to fail a breathalyzer in order to enjoy backroom pizza.
I was a huge fan of NYPD when they opened, and was one of the expatriate New Yorkers out there who was thrilled to finally have something we recognized as pizza here in A2. (My wife, who favors Pizza Hut - ouch - was forbidden to eat any pizza other than NYPD during her two pregnancies, so as not to ruin our children)
However, over the past fwe years NYPD's consistency has been off. I don't know if it was the experiment with the second location, or the franchising they have been trying, but their quality control is down. Sometimes the pizza is great, but sometimes the crust is too chewy, or the cheese is too gloppy.
BTW, I favor my slices crisp, and un-hampered by toppings, so a quick re-heat is a good thing!
The rest are a long way off.
I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS get Mr. Pizza. The 5$ (I think it's 6$ now) carry-out special is amazing. I love me some Mr. Pizza and it's the best value on campus.
My favorite pizza was probably Pizza House's deep dish. That was so filling and delicious. Cottage Inn was also very tasty, as is Jet's Pizza.
For a great deal tho, you can't beat Hungry Howie's. 2 large pizzas for less than 10 bucks when ordering online. Not the greatest pizza but with flavored crust definitely worth the price.
I never got caught up in the whole bell's phenomena. I lived south of campus for 3 years and always found Bell's to be overpriced (for a full pizza) and only ok.
A couple relatively new places: Happy's, and Pizza Pino.
Has anyone tried either one? Just curious.
I've had other stuff from Happy's (ribs, chicken, etc... all pretty decent)... but not their pizza.
Hard to pick a single favorite, but I love the margherita pizza at Cottage Inn on William St. Add a glass of chianti and I feel like I'm in Italy.
Freshman year I was in love with the thick crust Cottage Inn delivery pizza. Still love it but probably have not had it since freshman year either. I should probably make a trip to Ann Arbor just to renew that acquaintance. I recall getting Marco's delivered to the dorm room a few times and thinking it was good, especially the pizza sub. Bell's was awesome. Stopped into Backroom many times, cheap & tasty. I spent plenty of time at Pizza House...but remember it more for the atmosphere of the restaurant than the pizza itself. I remember the Pizzeria Uno on South U...but never ate there. Hello Faz was legendary...I think there was a really good write up in the newspaper (of maybe just a blog post) about him after he passed.
Regarding the bigger chains, I had been a fan of Domino since I was a child and had it delivered about a million times. I used to tip the delivery guy pretty well and sometimes if he had extra pizzas with him he'd stop by my place and offer them. I thought that was pretty awesome. There used to be a Dominos at the corner of State & William and I would pop in there for a quick slice too.
Although I'm less enthusiastic about Little Caesar's, they used to have this "Wild Wednesday" deal at their North Campus Commons outlet where you could get a whole large cheese or pepperoni pizza for just $2.99. It was so inexpensive that you almost had to eat there. There would be a huge line out the door and even people that you wouldn't expect to eat at Little Caesar's (e.g., professors) would be there.
I feel like I'm forgetting some places too...I guess that I ate a lot of pizza as a student.
Best Pizza - no cost considerations: Pizza House
Best relatively cheap - Cottage Inn
Best family run by awesome people with good NY pizza - NYPD
if NY Pizza can be considered "good" (native Chicagoan... and when in Chicago I recommend Lou Malnati's)
but Pizza House is the king.
Cottage Inn or Backroom. Usually Backroom, for empty pocket reasons.
Pizza House - pizza is the best and they have a bunch of other shit. The late night specials were a stoner's dream in college. I miss those days.
Ashley's chicken and pesto pizza, especially when it's free because you've drank the requisite number of beers.
I love Diag Party Store pizza. Nobody ever seems to mention it, most likely because it's not a pizza place but just a party store. But the pizza is so cheap, delicious, and they also deliver alcohol. Perfect.